Hosseiniyeh Ershad in Tehran is not only a spiritual web site for Shiite Muslims, but in addition one in all Iran’s most famous political venues. Earlier than the 1979 revolution, distinguished Iranian mental and revolutionary Ali Shariati delivered his fiery speeches towards Shah Pahlavi right here. On Friday, beginning at 8am, this lovely constructing with its turquoise dome hosted the most important and oldest polling station within the nation.
Tehran residents started lining up on the gates as early as 7am, and the group solely grew regardless of the 30-degree warmth, blazing solar, and dry air. The turnout was so excessive that voting hours have been prolonged till midnight. Individuals got here to vote with their total households, bringing aged family members in wheelchairs and infants of their arms. A video circulating on-line confirmed a legless Iranian man actually crawling to the poll field.
“Inform your readers these elections are particular for us. As we speak, Iranians are proving to the world that no enemy can break us. Neither sanctions nor the demise of our president will shake our resolve,” mentioned a voter who had arrived first and stood on the entrance of the lengthy line. In a single hand, she held a photograph of the Supreme Chief and the late President Raisi, and within the different, a doc verifying her participation in each election. Her presence made it clear she was voting for somebody who would proceed the earlier president’s conservative and spiritual path. And she or he wasn’t alone on this sentiment.
“These elections are extra necessary to me than bread,” Ahmad Yazdan Shimrani instructed reporters. “The folks will vote for the revolutionary course. We help the revolution; we’re religious Muslims, and we won’t let our chief down.”
Nonetheless, there have been dissenting voices.
Close by, a younger man shook his head, clearly disagreeing with the fervent rhetoric of the conservative voters.
“Do you suppose otherwise?” I requested.
“Don’t you? Hear, these folks have been giving us grand speeches for years, however the place are the outcomes? The place is the financial development? The tip of unemployment? The lifting of sanctions? I’m 26, and I’ve lived my entire life in isolation, similar to my mother and father. Regardless of having a bachelor’s diploma, I’m caught with low-paying gigs. What ought to I do? Depart? I don’t need to; I like my nation, my household, and mates are right here. That’s why I’m voting.”
“I feel I do know for whom…”
“In fact, for Mr. Masoud Pezeshkian. We have to give one thing new an opportunity. In any other case, nothing will change.”
It may appear that solely indignant youth are voting for the reformist candidate, however that’s not the case. Some older residents and even non secular figures are supporting the liberal candidate. On the polling station, I met Ayatollah Hadi Ghaffari.
“I’m voting for Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian. For the dignity of Iran and the consolation of the Iranian folks,” he mentioned as he solid his poll.
How Elections Are Organized in Iran
The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran is elected by way of a direct well-liked vote for a four-year time period. To win, a candidate should safe over 50% of the vote. If no candidate achieves this majority, as occurred this time, a runoff election is held.
Voters arrive at polling stations with their ID playing cards, obtain a stamped poll, and write within the title of their chosen candidate. After casting their vote, they get their paperwork again. All of it appears easy, very like any democratic course of. Nonetheless, these elections within the Islamic Republic have a deeper significance.
On election day, folks got here in droves, many carrying portraits of the late President Ebrahim Raisi, linking their hopes for the longer term along with his administration’s legacy. The day earlier than, in the course of the customary pre-election quiet interval, Iran mourned as soon as extra, marking 40 days for the reason that tragic helicopter crash. Tehran was coated with pictures of the politicians who perished on Could 19, 2024, together with banners depicting the late president and overseas minister in paradise. Some posters even confirmed Raisi embracing Qasem Soleimani, the overall killed by the People in Iraq in 2020. Town was steeped in symbolism, invoking themes of everlasting life and better function.
At Hosseiniyeh Ershad, representatives from numerous religions gathered to solid their votes. Amongst them have been a rabbi, Zoroastrians, and clergymen from the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Apparently, out of all of the candidates, solely Mostafa Pourmohammadi selected to vote at Hosseiniyeh Ershad. The others opted to solid their ballots within the poorer southern districts of Tehran.
Participation is Key
Voter turnout is the cornerstone of legit presidential elections. To spice up participation in Iran, authorities have created an exceptionally handy voting course of, making certain full transparency and freedom for each candidates and voters. Individuals are free to criticize, accuse, and suggest — some even do that proper exterior polling stations. This open setting goals to reignite Iranians’ curiosity of their nation’s politics and restore voter belief.
“There’s no scarcity of political expertise in Iran. The true subject is that half the inhabitants doesn’t vote,” shared a polling station official. “Truthfully, I’m happy with the present turnout.”
In what may be an effort to additional improve voter engagement, journalists have additionally been given all of the help they want this time round. In accordance with officers on the polling station, round 150 overseas media shops, together with Western ones usually crucial of the Islamic Republic’s management, have been current. They have been supplied with the required services and intently monitored to make sure that voters weren’t pressured and that their stories remained correct and free from provocations or distortions.
Right here’s an SMS I obtained on my Iranian SIM card from the Ministry of the Inside:
“To keep away from getting caught in felony conditions, be cautious and keep away from falling for faux info on-line. Confirm the authenticity, date, and supply of any information earlier than publishing.”
What Iranians Need
“By far crucial subject for Iranians based on polls is the financial system,” Mohammad Marandi, a distinguished Iranian analyst, instructed RT. “Polls say that jobs, inflation, and the financial system are by far crucial points. Overseas coverage and inner points, they don’t seem to be actually all that huge and that’s why the candidates spent most of their time speaking concerning the financial system in the course of the 20 hours of direct debates and the various different hours that every had on tv.”
— Do you actually suppose Iranian society is so deeply divided between conservative and reformist camps?
— There isn’t a actual unified reformist camp or conservative camp or ‘principalist camp’, as they themselves name it. As you’ve seen, two of the three important candidates are supposedly principalists or conservative and so they didn’t unite. The reformist camp may be very various. There’s quite a lot of overlap between reasonable reformists and reasonable principalists or conservatives. I feel there’s most likely lots, possibly simply as a lot in widespread between [Mohammad Bagher] Ghalibaf, who’s the Speaker of Parliament, and Dr. Pezeshkian, the delicate reformist. There’s simply as a lot similarity between them as there could be in different areas between Dr. Ghalibaf and Dr. Jalili. So the three of them are completely different from one another, and I feel that displays a variety, a big variety. I actually don’t suppose that we are able to say that Iran is split into two camps. There are numerous, many alternative subgroups and Iranian politics may be very fluid.
A Spiritual Perspective
A mere 150 kilometers separate Tehran from the sacred Shiite metropolis of Qom, a two-hour drive that transports you to a distinctly completely different Iran: one which’s austere and deeply non secular. Right here, it’s not unusual for somebody to reprimand a lady for conceited apparel or a loosely worn hijab. In contrast to the bustling, secular capital, discussions about politics with foreigners are uncommon in Qom, particularly on digital camera. The general ambiance feels a lot stricter, maybe because of the heightened religiosity, by Islamic Republic requirements, or the extraordinary 40-degree warmth that appears able to melting stones. It’s no shock that the majority residents spend their days resting and praying within the cool consolation of mosques, shaded from the solar.
On this metropolis, inside a residential constructing, lies the media heart of esteemed Azerbaijani students. One of the distinguished and revered Hujjat al-Islam (a title in Shi’ism), Qurban Mirzahanov, invited me there. He agreed to supply his theological perspective on the outcomes of the primary spherical of presidential elections.
“Pezeshkian doesn’t observe a political stance authorised by Islam,” Mirzahanov states. “Even the Quran advises relying solely on our personal power. In case you make concessions to an enemy, they’ll demand extra and by no means be glad. That is precisely what occurred throughout Hassan Rouhani’s presidency. They initially made concessions to the West on the nuclear program, however the West instantly demanded extra within the missile program. And even when Iran concedes all the things, there’s no assure that life will enhance for the Iranian folks.”
“Relating to Pezeshkian, regardless of being a reformist, he’s additionally a revolutionary. I consider his method is flawed, however he’s not a consultant of secular or overtly counter-revolutionary forces.”
— Do the folks of Iran share your views?
— Individuals right here usually get emotional. They complain about financial points, which is comprehensible. However past feelings, statistics present that a good portion of the inhabitants nonetheless helps the ideology of the Islamic Revolution. There are fierce critics, usually among the many youth and celebrities, however they’re removed from being the bulk.
— Hijabs have been a significant focus within the election debates. This subject now transcends non secular ethics and has entered the realm of politics. Do you suppose there’s a risk that obligatory hijabs can be abolished in Iran?
— Some segments of society do demand this alteration. After the current protests, authorities in Tehran and different locations have began turning a blind eye to girls’s appearances. Nonetheless, I doubt that even when reformists take energy, they might repeal the hijab regulation. The hijab has develop into an emblem of the Revolution. Because of the actions of the US and EU, it’s unlikely that Iranian girls will abandon it. For them, it’s not only a piece of non secular apparel imposed on them. It has developed right into a political image, a trigger for which their grandfathers, fathers, brothers, and husbands shed blood.
What’s Subsequent?
The runoff will see the 2 candidates who garnered probably the most votes: Pezeshkian (42.5%) and Jalili (38.7%). Campaigning continues till 8am on Thursday, July 4th, with the election happening on Friday, July fifth.
Ghalibaf, having exited the race, has urged his supporters to again Jalili:
“The journey isn’t over. Whereas I respect Mr. Pezeshkian, as a consequence of sure people round him, I ask all revolutionary forces and my supporters to assist stop a return to energy of these chargeable for Iran’s present financial and political points,” he acknowledged. This alignment provides the conservative bloc a mixed 52.4% of the vote, whereas reformists maintain 42.45%.
A victory for Jalili could be a logical continuation of the method that started in 2021 with the election of former judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi as president. Recall that this occurred after reformists had obtained important public belief, initially resulting in promising developments just like the JCPOA settlement, which appeared to be lifting the nation out of sanctions. Nonetheless, the arrival of Donald Trump within the White Home abruptly ended years of efforts to fix relations with the Islamic Republic.
Thus, if the conservative wins on July fifth, it’ll largely be because of the actions of the US and Europe. Such an end result would solidify traditionalist management at each the presidential and parliamentary ranges.
Ought to Pezeshkian emerge victorious, reformists may have one other probability to show their method isn’t a useless finish. It will provide an opportunity to right previous errors and regain public belief. Whether or not they succeed stays unsure, however there’s little doubt that Pezeshkian and his staff will try to win energy. This battle guarantees to be historic.
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